The Lycan King (Book 1)
Chapter 92. Lady

Avalyn

A deep pit formed in my belly the moment we stepped in.

I was watching my step when I entered so I saw a line of green grass pass from under my feet andextend and starter covering the large expanse of void in front of us.

A gasp left my mouth when I saw acres and acres of land in front of us, covered in neatly trimmed,lively green grass. And on that grass were well groomed and maintained beautiful gardens, coveringthe entire land. The cold weather changed and the gloomy weather dispersed. It was almost as if...asif it was spring. How is this possible? The temperature didn't feel like it was freezing negativesomething Celsius but almost as if it was twenty degrees.

My heart thudded.

Is this real?

Or am I imagining this?

Nik and I continued walking forward and then again, a line slipped from beneath our feet and awhite cobble stoned path followed the line and created a straight path for us, from the middle ofthe gardens, up to the top of the mountain. Small stems erupted from the ground on either side ofthe path, formed into plants first and then continued growing taller and taller to turn into beautifulgreen, lush trees, creating a canopy around us. And then more trees of different kind started groundaround the garden. Flowery plants and bushes grew, ponds formed out of nowhere. It looked wellplanned...as if it had come straight out a fairy-tale.

The sun was at the horizon. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, purple, pink and a deep orangeand yellow around where the sun was setting. The clouds moved at a slow pace, taking their time,almost as if they stopped to stare and marvel at the sight that was being created in front of them.Birds chirped as they flew back to their nests. I saw a bird settle on the edge of the fountain thatsuddenly appeared in the middle of the garden that was towards our right and then it drank somewater.

A very similar fountain was in the middle of garden which was towards our right too.

Is this some sort of magical land? Am I imagining all of this?

But it feels so real!

As we walked forward over the white cobble stone?? which now that I noticed is actually marble, Icould see a small figure perched at the top of the mountain. I couldn't make out what it was.

As we made our way there, the world around us came to life?? more fountains with sparking watershooting out of them, beautiful trees, plants with flowers like rose, lilies, peonies, morning gloriesand many that I didn't even recognise were in full bloom.

My feet stopped when the figure at the top of the mountain grew clearer.

It was a palace. An enormously colossal palace with cylindrical columns supporting the huge figureand different arches.

And it only grew larger as the distance between us and the palace lessened.

It was an all white palace in pristine condition.

But what bewitched me was that it wasn't just any palace. It was the exact same palace that I hadimagined.

Exactly same, down to the intricate carvings that was etched on the walls of the entire palace."Nikolai..." A mesmerised whisper left my mouth.

"Be on your guard, Avalyn." His voice snapped me out of my daze. "You cannot trust this place. Wemust replace the person who is creating this??" He stopped.

"This whole palace. Which is exactly the same as I imagined.” He nodded at my words.

"The gardens were exactly as I imagined.” He said lowly. "Down to every blooming flower. To test itout, I imagined birds drinking water from the fountain and the birds came to life." He hissed. "Whatkind of magic is this? Do you realise the amount of power this man has if he has the power to bringthoughts of others to life?"

And that's when dread slithered into my heart.

I had been to busy admiring our surroundings that I forgot reality.

This does not happen in real life.

When we finally reached the palace, large closed doors greeted us. Intricate circular patterns weredelicately carved over it.

This was something that I had not imagined.

And then the doors moved and Nik's grip on my hand tightened.

The doors opened and a woman in white slipped out before the doors shut again.

The woman?? she was the woman who I saw in my dreams.

The woman with silver hair and peaceful blue eyes.

The woman who always claimed that she was me.

"Who are you?" Nik demanded.

The lady smiled and I felt Nik freeze and his coiled up body relaxed. Much like when his bodyrelaxes after I give him a massage.

"I have been waiting for the both of you.” She smiled warmly at the both of us. "It's been centuriessince anyone has been able to make it here."

"What do you mean?" Nik asked. His body may be relaxed but he did not trust her.

Trust came hard to him.

"You will know in due time, Nikolai.” She gave him another warm smile but her eyes teared up. "It'sbeen so long since I've seen you.” She whispered.

Who is she?

Nik moved towards her but then stopped and his body tensed again, like he was trying hard to stayrooted in his place. "I've never seen you in my life."

All she responded was with another smile.

"You have done a good job up till now, Avalyn.” She turned towards me.

"Thank you.” I smiled. She had told me that I needed to protect Nikolai and that the time is coming.The time for war came and I made sure Nik is safe.

"But the main war isn't over yet.” She said and a frown etched on my face. "The time is coming.""Who is she Avalyn?" Nikolai tightened his hold on my hand.

"She is the lady that comes in my dreams, Nikolai." A flicker of realisation hit his eyes. "She was theone who told me that I need to protect you, the time is coming and that I need to brighten thedarkness."

She smiled at that.

"I am her, Nikolai.” The lady told him.

Nikolai did not look like he trusted her one bit.

"You both have a big role to play in the future. And I need you two to remain safe. For that, I giftyou my home." She motioned towards the palace that was behind her.

What?

Her home?

But according to the legend, on top of the mountain was the home of Goddess Luna and God Sol.What?

"As you step inside, it will mould to your liking. No one will step in without your permission.” Hereyes slid to Nikolai. "Exactly as you wanted. Think about it and it will come to life. You have timeuntil the moon sets and the sun rises. Make most of it." She said, and then a wave of calm washedover me.

"Give me your hands." She extended her hands towards both of us and instinctively, my arm roseand I placed my hand in hers and so did Nik.

She looked at both of us, still holding our hands. "You need to make the right choices in life.Whatever happens, whoever happens, stay true to your heart. There will be times when you don'tknow what the truth us, remember that the truth is inside you at all times. Both of you need to growinto yourselves. Avalyn, you're almost there. Nikolai, you have a long way to go, you just need tostay strong. Surround yourself with your loved ones and no matter what happens, don't give uphope. There is always light after darkness,” and then she specifically looked at me, "until then,brighten the darkness.” And then she looked at Nik, “she shines because of you, don't turn awayfrom her.” And then she turned back to me again, "always look for him for enlightenment. He willnever fail you.”

Everything she said made sense but I felt like she was giving us a cryptic message that we needed tounderstand. And that confused me greatly.

"Mate or pack?” She asked.

"Mate." Both of us said with unwavering determination.

"Mate or children?" She asked. Images flashed through my mind of a mini version of Nik with histhunderstorm grey eyes and my dark brown hair. I can never have that. My heart ached.

"Mate." We said silently after a beat.

She gave us a secret smile. A shot of spark jolt through me and then she turned our palms over.There was a cut in the middle of our palms. Red blood flowed out of Nik's cut but sparkling goldblood flowed out of mine.

I heard Nik's breath hitch.

I looked at him and he was looking at his hand which was held by the lady and then his gaze slid tomy hand.

His eyes widened a the sight of my golden blood.

"Place your palms on the door.” She told us and again, instinctively, without question, we steppedforward.

I placed my palm on the left door and Nik placed his palm on the right one??circular designs nearthe edge of the door.

The golden blood leaked from my hand and passed through the carvings of the entire door, makingit look like the carvings over it were made out of real gold.

Nik's red blood too passed through the carvings of the right door and then the different colouredblood slipped into each other's side of the doors and the carvings had both, red and golden colour.The uneven surface of the door, which was because of the carvings, evened out as the blood filledthe cavities of the carvings.

And then the doors flashed with a silver light so brightly that I had to shield my eyes.

When I opened them again, the gold and red blood was spreading through the cavities into thecarvings over the castle.

Unknowingly, I took a couple of steps back.

The entire palace now had red and golden carvings over it, like it was always there. And it didn'tlook like blood at all. It looked like hundreds of skilled workers had plated the carvings with rubyand gold, oddly making the palace a bewitching sight.

All the breath left my lungs.

It was?so?beautiful.

It was even more beautiful that what I had imagined.

"This will ward of negative energy and unwanted people.” The lady said softly. "This is all the stateof the art security system you will ever need.”

Nik's lips parted. He had said those exact words outside of that hut.

"I know you don't believe me, Nikolai." She looked at Nik. "But I know you feel it. I know you trustme."

Feel what?

Nik nodded.

She smiled. "I am the mate of the man who is you."

Huh?

"You will know everything in due time.” She gave us a last smile before her expression turnedserious. "But for now, it's time to prepare. He will strike. The time is nearing.”

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, she vanished.

I turned to Nikolai, waiting for his next move.

"Do you trust her?" He asked me, his eyes on the door.

"Yes." Every fibre of my being trusted her.

"Then let's go inside.” He caught my hand again and we both stepped towards the doors.

We both placed our hands over the doors and pushed them open.

Another line slipped from beneath our feet and the black void turned into a richly decorated foyer.It had a lavish set of staircase that led to the floor above and a red carpet covering it, exactly like myimagination.

"Ava." Nikolai called me.

"Having stairs by the entrance won't be the smartest move.” He said and the scene before my eyeschanged and a long foyer formed in front of my eyes.

"This is were the entrance guards will be stationed, who will lead the incomers to where ever theyhave to be. This way, no one gets a direct entry in our home and watchful eyes are on them sincethe moment they are in." Nikolai explained. "Even the people we want here might have ulteriormotives.”

I hadn't considered that.

I'm neither an experienced, brilliant tactician nor a war strategist, unlike Nikolai.

"How about I design the layout of the palace and you the decorate the interiors? I'm shit atdecorating things." He grinned down at me.

"Yes." I grinned back.

And just like that, we went about the entire palace, mapping and designing and furnishing theentirety of the palace.

Nikolai was always a planner. And he planned the entire palace perfectly. The palace has four floorsand four wings??north, south, east, west. The west wing was going to be our private section, no oneother than family would be allowed there. The north wing held the Royal Dining Hall, the ThroneRoom, The Council Room, a smaller council room and then a few living rooms and numerous officesand conference rooms. Basically all the work related areas. Then the first floor of east wing hadrecreational areas like the gym, swimming pool, indoor garden and greenhouse, a theatre, multipleballrooms and all that. The second floor had guest rooms and quarters. And on the third and thefourth floor were the living quarters of the council members that were yet to be chosen. And thesouth wing has more guest bedrooms and the main kitchen from where most of the food wouldcome for the entire palace but mainly it was for the staff. Nikolai made it and I decorated it .

By the end of it, I was tired and drained and my legs dragged as we came to the last wing.

The west wing. This would be the wing that will be only ours.

"You can rest if you want, I will finish it." Nikolai told softly just as he finished with the main hallwayafter we entered the west wing.

"No, it's fine." I told him. Both of us had been on our feet since the morning. Nik more so becausehe had been training early in the morning while I was sleeping. "And the sun will rise in some timetoo."

"As you wish, Love." Nikolai placed a kiss on top of my head. "You can go to our bedchamber anddo it. It's on the top floor, the one straight down the hall. I will take care of the rest.” And then hepointed towards the end of the hall. "The elevator is there.”

Nodding, I took to elevator to the top floor which was the fourth floor. Following the direction Nikgave me, I walked down the long hallway and pushed open the double doors and entered ourbedroom. The palace was humongous and it had tired me a lot, especially after the long hike up themountain.

A breath of relief left my mouth. It was empty but this felt like home.

It felt more of a home than the estate back in the Rogue Pack.

I placed a king size bed against the side wall and added night tables on either side of it. I added twolarge sized walk in closets and filled it with everything we could need. I also kept a double doorsized gap so both of them were connected from the inside.

Then I walked into the bathroom, and much like the one we had in Mozog, I made two pools, alarge shower area, sitting area and lastly a big bathtub for two. I also connected the bathroom tothe closets for easy access.

Nik and I loved having baths together so I made sure the entire bathroom was perfect.

I went back to the bedroom and went over all the details. I also added a desk that Nik would needand a coffee table with two comfortable seats.

I walked out to the balcony took a deep breath of fresh air. I made the large space into a greenbalcony by adding plants around the edges. I also put a hanging chair swing similar to the one thatNik had bought for me back at the estate. And lastly, I put a dining table for two in case we wantedto have a meal outside.

The sun was about to rise over the horizon in a couple of minutes.

"The bedroom is lovely." Nikolai stepped behind me and placed a kiss on my neck, over my mark."Thank you.” I whispered and we both watched the sun rise.

I placed my hands over the balcony and saw the sky change colours as the sun rose.

"Do you know why I chose the west wing to be our wing?" Nik asked softly.

I shook my head.

"You see right there?" His arm extended and he pointed towards the faraway coast, where the landmet the ocean. "That's where the Rogue Pack is."

"So that even if we are living in this huge palace, which seems so distant from the real world, wedon't loose the sight of reality. Of where it all started. Of where?we?started." His hands sat atop mywaist.

"I will never forget it.” I turned around to look at him. I rose on my toes and kissed the corner of hislips. "Let's go make this palace our home."

And then I dragged him to bed and did wicked things to his body.