Chapter 491: The Wolf’s Declaration
“Well…” Nikolai leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His claws tapped against the polished surface, slow, deliberate, the scrape of keratin against wood grating through the silence. His black eyes glittered as he studied Loric like a wolf sniffing out a trap.
“You want me to leash myself, in exchange for a beaten pup?” His lip curled into a faint grin. “That’s not restraint, that’s charity. And I don’t do charity.”
Loric’s expression didn’t shift. If anything, the faintest smile tugged at his lips, though it didn’t touch his cold silver eyes. “Not charity, Patriarch. Survival. The Silver Clan will stand again, and I prefer that it stands beside Volkov, not against it. Your father showed mercy. I am offering to do the same, though from a different seat.”
The room stirred.
An Elder growled under his breath, but Loric raised a single finger, silencing him.
Nikolai tilted his head, gaze dropping briefly to Sulley. The boy shook where he knelt, not out of fear but pride, his jaw clenched hard enough to crack teeth. Even half-dead, Sulley’s defiance burned like a brand.
“Interesting,” Nikolai muttered, almost to himself.
He leaned back again, arms folding across his chest. “You think giving me Sulley buys your safety. You think I’ll walk away with him, forget this village of wolves who sneer the second my back is turned, and let your little throne keep its shine.” His savage grin widened. “But you’re wrong, Loric. I don’t play games. If I take Sulley, it’s not because you’re offering him. It’s because he’s mine to take.”
A murmur rolled through the chamber.
Loric’s smile lingered, unshaken. “Then perhaps we have common ground, after all. Well, what do you say, Patriarch…?” The current Patriarch of the Silver family’s voice twisted, watching Nikolai’s face as he rose from the chair with a long, deep sigh.
Two Great Elders
Three Elders
And five Mature trash…
Sulley winced, his blood face, covered in bruises, horrible to watch, yet Nikolai maintained his gaze, watching the young male. “You want me to take him, leave Londis, and never bother you again… that sounds quite fair.”
He rolled his shoulders in reverse rotation, creating a small crack.
To his right, Ryan still gawped at his lover, while peeking at Clara, and Anya showed a similar expression. When considering their reactions, he didn’t have a choice, despite the anger growing, churning in his stomach.
Nikolai’s gaze wandered across the face of the guilty Lamia, the nervous Lord and Black Bear, who dropped the kind senior facade from the arena.
He ground his teeth together, nails sinking into his palms. The ones who attacked him and his lovers over and over, caused dozens of casualties and betrayed them. Nikolai’s narrowed eyes glared at the Lord, his lips twitching.
Can I accept this?
What kind of man do I want to be?
Countless questions flashed through his mind rapidly. He tried to remain calm and focused, thinking about the safety of his clan and the people around him.
Tension grew with each second he delayed.
Black Bears’ fists clenched, while the other warriors helping the Silver clan nervously rose from their chairs, in a combat stance.
“Nikolai.”
It was Ryan who spoke first.
He’d recovered from his sudden trance.
“I want to speak to her, alone if possible.” He pointed at the beautiful Lamia, her cheeks covered in soft scales that darkened when Ryan spoke. She looked bashful, flicking the tip of her tail like a rattlesnake.
“Okay.” Nikolai looked at the Lord with a smile on his lips.
“Can you arrange that, Loric? I need some time to think about your offer. Maybe we could meet again after a short recess?” The face of Loric twisted, while Nikolai smiled at this reaction.
Of course, he wanted him gone sooner.
But peeking at Black Bear, who nodded back, the Lord grumbled before nodding. “We shall return in an hour, then. I hope to have your answer by then. Young Patriarch.”
“Ah, sure.”
The Silver Clan gradually left their seats and slipped out through the second door in the back of the room. Meanwhile, the Lamia and Black Bear remained in the room, one staring at Ryan, the other at Nikolai with a doubtful face.
“What are you planning, wolf!?
“Hm?”
Black Bear growled, exposing his sharp fangs, while making his body look larger. He ignored the others and focused on Niklokai. Nikolai just smiled, a faint, almost sarcastic grin. “Nothing, just getting rid of the disgusting trash.”
“W-What?!”
“Can’t you take a joke? I just wanted to give them a chance to talk it out.” Nikolai pointed to the awkward couple still not speaking to each other.
While speaking to Black Bear, Nikolai reached out, grasping Anya and Clara’s hands, pulling them closer as he continued glaring at the huge bear.
“…”
However, that’s when Sulley’s voice slipped out. “Y….you can’t trust… them…. Patriarch Nikolai…” The bruised lips made his voice sound amusing, but Nikolai’s eyes remained serious; he listened in silence. “They…. don’t plan to—”
“Shut up! You filthy mutt!” Big Bear bellowed, pulling back his leg, preparing to kick the wounded wolf.
After all, he’s Kumiko’s brother.
Black Bear’s eyes burned with contempt as Sulley’s weak voice rattled through the chamber. “Shut up! You filthy mutt!” His roar cracked like a thunderclap, spittle flying as his massive frame loomed forward. His clawed foot drew back, muscles bulging like boulders ready to split the floor.
“Know your place!”
His kick descended like a hammer, a blow meant to silence the chained half-breed once and for all.
CRACK!
The ground split as Nikolai’s arm shot out, one hand braced against the bear’s shin. The force of the impact rattled the stone beneath their feet, the pressure wave exploding through the hall like a bomb. Dust showered from the rafters as the polished table shuddered, cups and scrolls scattering in all directions.
The onlookers staggered back, some clutching the walls as silence followed.
Black Bear’s eyes widened. For the briefest moment, disbelief cracked through his fury. Nikolai had stopped his full weight, his full strength, with one arm. By the pup, he still imagined Nikolai to be.
Nikolai, on the other hand, didn’t flinch. He rolled his shoulders with a deep breath. His claws sank into the bear’s shin, his black aura flickering around his arm like a threat. His silver eyes dimmed into black, glowing faintly with golden limbal rings.
A calm, unbothered expression on his face.
“What’s the meaning of this, Nikolai Volkov?!” Black Bear snarled, snapping his leg back with a hiss. His voice boomed, heavy with outrage, shaking the long hall.
Nikolai straightened, brushing a trace of dust from his sleeve as though the clash had been nothing. His lips pulled into a slow grin. “The meaning? From the moment he entered this room, this wolf became a member of my pack, foolish bear.”
The declaration rolled through the chamber like thunder.
Sulley froze, his battered face lifting with wide, wet eyes. Nikolai noticed and smiled at him, “after all, his sister is my beloved wife.” The words caused Sulley to gasp; his lips twitched before forming a shallow smile.
However, to Black Bear, the words were nothing but child’s play.
His muscles bulged, swelling with rage as he panted heavier because of the insult. To be stopped was one thing. To be dismissed was another. Pride twisted his face into a snarl, every inch of his mountainous body trembling with rage.
“You dare—”
He stepped forward, crushing the ground with each stride. His aura, like a surging tide, flooded the room like a falling mountain.
Yet Nikolai remained relaxed, eyes half-lidded, almost delighted. He reached back, pushing Clara and Anya gently toward Ryan, then hooked his foot under Sulley’s chains and slid him across the floor to sit with them.
“Stay there.” His tone was flat, tolerating no argument.
He cracked his neck, sauntering towards Black Bear, deliberately taking his time.
Each step forward cracked the tiles beneath his claws, black fire licking up from his heels. His presence swelled in the chamber, meeting Black Bear’s suffocating aura with his own. Where the bear was blunt force and pride, Nikolai’s a storm held in leash only because he kept it leashed.
The room quaked from the two Great Elders standing across from each other, one seething, one smiling.
“I warned you once,” Black Bear growled, spit and blood frothing his lips. “But if you insist on acting like a fool, then I’ll break you here and now!”
WOOSH!
Black Bear punched the air beside Nikolai’s face, the force alone creating blades of wind that sliced and tore his cheek, blood oozing down his neck.
“Perfect,” Nikolai replied, his grin widening as black flame burst across his shoulders, twisting into jagged wings of shadow. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
From the moment he became a Great Elder, Nikolai’s desires changed. His priorities and outlook also adjusted to match his new power. The darkness that he once feared became tangible, and the prospect of fighting strong opponents became an exhilarating temptation for the young Patriarch.
“Come at me, honey bear.”