A Werewolf Fantasy
Chapter 47

Erin felt out of sorts after that barbaric scene she had witnessed at Nikjin's longhouse. Mizzah's body has since been buried and some servants had cleaned up the place and restored some sense of normalcy to the environment. Timah had been inconsolable and even blamed Erin for Mizzah's death because she was sure that the other woman wouldn't have accused her of poisoning their lord's food if she hadn't witnessed it. Rowana was still cooped up in the bleeding hut, pretending to be having her period. Nikjin was nowhere to be found after he walked away from his lair.

Meanwhile, Erin was consumed with thoughts of how she would wring Zokman's scrawny neck if she ever got near him again, but she couldn't go to his hut just yet and risk getting caught by Timah or worst of all, Nikjin. Tomorrow night was the apocalyptic battle between Nikjin and Vak Smallchief, and Erin was determined to play an important role in it. She was not going to just sit back in this hut and let a bunch of male werewolves determine her fate for her. She needed to get out of this place, return to Denai' Vena and retrieve the dream stone to take her back home to the future. She didn't want to be here anymore, Edvana can continue from wherever she stopped.

A man showed up at the entrance of their hut and stuck his head in. "Lord Nikjin wants to see everybody," he announced and walked away without giving the women a chance to ask questions.

"What now?" Timah groaned. "Does he finally want to kill all of us?"

Erin ignored her and walked out of the hut. She was surprised to see Zokman standing there beside his master, looking confident.

When he saw her, he smirked and looked away quickly, as if he didn't want to be caught staring at her.

There were dozens of people already waiting in front of Nikjin's longhouse in anticipation of his announcement. When he was sure that everyone was now present, he spoke.

"Tomorrow night is my moment of glory," he began. "It is a time that I have waited for, for many years and now that it has finally come, I do not want to take any chances. Everything must go as planned and that is why I have called you all here to inform you of the role that you will play tomorrow."

There was a smattering of murmurs in the crowd but they stopped talking when they saw Nikjin glaring at them.

"I have not asked for your opinions. Be quiet!" he said sharply. "As for tomorrow night, all werewolves will join me as I fight my brother for the title of Alpha King. Remember, he is mine to kill but if you see me in danger of being wounded, you shall attack him and overpower him on my behalf. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Lord!" they replied in unison.

"Zokman shall unleash the beasts on the imprisoned warriors in their cells," Nikjin continued. "Once the prisoners have been devoured, the beasts shall be unleashed on the werewolves outside of the cave. While all of that is happening, the humans among you are to remain at home here, preparing our victory feast. We shall all eat and drink together after I have defeated my brother and all of my enemies!"

There was a cheer in the crowd amongst his loyalists. Erin felt a mixture of apprehension and excitement. The time had finally come to thwart Nikjin's plans but did she have what it took to follow through with her plans?

"You can go about your daily business now," Nikjin continued. "Remember your parts and play them well, and you shall receive your rewards from me when I become the Alpha King."

After they were dismissed, Erin told Timah she was going to the outskirts of the compound to relieve herself, but instead, she made her way to Zokman's hut. She no longer cared about being caught because of her.

It was now or never for her to get her hands on the shaman's magical powders. She had seen him entering the longhouse with his master, so she knew he wouldn't be coming home just yet.

She took a jute bag and grab several handfuls of the silver dust and dumped them inside the bag. She found a small blade on the shelf beside a vial of potion and she took it too.

She was armed and ready for battle. She snuck back into the compound, concealing her stash of contraband under her skirt, but nobody paid attention to her. Everyone was in high spirits and it annoyed her the more that these stupid prisoners were rooting for their captor to win tomorrow's fight.

Did they not realize that he was going to be even more powerful and more vicious than he already was if he won?

It seemed as if she was the only sane person in the compound and she couldn't trust any of these people with details of her planned rebellion. She would sneak out early in the morning to open the portals and set her people free. They might as well have an early start rather than just wait for Nikjin to make the first move.

"What are you plotting this time?" Timah asked as she came into the room and saw Erin stuffing the jute bag into a corner.

"Not you too," she said with a sigh. "Listen, this may be my last day in this place and I do not want to part ways with you on a bad note. Let me be, please."

Timah looked sober. "He is going to kill us all if he becomes the Alpha King," she said quietly.

"I am so afraid of what life would be like with Lord Nikjin as our supreme leader. Both humans and werewolves will not be spared from his cruelty. I wish there was a way to stop him."

Erin couldn't tell if the woman was being sincere or simply trying to trap her like the other women before her. She needed to tread carefully with this one and hold her cards close to her chest until she was sure that Timah could be trusted. "Sounds like wishful thinking to me," she said with a shrug. "Who has the courage to stop him?"

"You," said Timah. "Why me?"

"Because he seems to have soft spot for you and I know that you despise him. I am sure you know his weaknesses too."

"Are you trying to set me up?" Erin asked suspiciously.

"No, Edvana," Timah said, coming closer to stand beside Erin. "I know you are up to something and I want to join you when you leave this place."

"Who told you I am leaving?"

"Aren't you?"

Erin was silent for a few seconds. "Look, I do not have a clear plan yet, but I am keeping my eyes peeled for opportunities to escape from here tomorrow.

"I shall be taking Rowana with me and you are welcome to join us if you want, but this secret must stay between us. If you run off to tell Lord Nikjin about it, he will kill us both and that will be the end of your ambition to become his queen." "I have no intentions of being his queen," said Timah quickly.

"I will stay close to you and keep my eyes open too. When you are ready to run away with Rowana, just give me a signal and I will join you. I am ready to do whatever you want as long as I stand a chance of leaving this accursed place in the end."

"Good," said Erin, convinced that Timah was being sincere. "As I said before, I do not have any plans yet, but we will stay in this hut and watch how everything turns out before we make our move. Do you understand?" "Yes," said Timah, obediently. "When will Rowana join us?"

"Tomorrow morning. I will go and get her myself."

Timah clapped her hands together excitedly. "I cannot wait to get out of here. If I leave this place, I will run back to Pentuck to reunite with my family.

"Lord Nikjin took me away from them many months ago and they could not come to rescue me because they were afraid of him. After tomorrow, I may finally see them again!"

Her excitement warmed Erin's heart and she hoped that things would work out in their favor tomorrow because Timah was not the only one looking forward to a family reunion. She could not wait as well to be reunited with her family in Fairbanks, but first, she needed to live through this nightmare and make it out alive, whether Nikjin liked it or not.