Zokman''s hut was located outside the border of Nikjin''spound, hidden behind trees and tall grasses. It was bigger than the standard-sized huts and had two torches burning on either side of the entrance. "Do you want me to follow you inside?" Mizzah asked with a shaky voice.


    Erin could see that the young woman was terrified of Zokman and she could understand why. "No, Mizzah. You don''t have toe with me. You can go back now, I''ll go inside alone." "Are you sure?"


    "Yes. Go on, go back home. I will join you and the otherster."


    Mizzah hesitated only a moment before she spun on her heels and hurried away like a scared child.


    Alone, Erin inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. She didn''t know what she was going to say to the shaman but she knew that she needed to choose her words carefully.


    She knew that Zokman would hang on to anything incriminating to use against her when he reunited with his ally. She squared her shoulders and took the first step forward.


    "I smell a lunaing to visit me," said Zokman from the darkened interior of his hut. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit?"


    "Are you going to invite me in or are we going to have this conversation without seeing each other?"


    He chuckled. "You are the one who cannot see me, but I see you clearly."


    Erin kept walking forward until she entered his dimly lit hut. He was sitting on a low stool in front of a disy of dried bird bones and stones on a faded animal hide.


    The ce smelled of incense and looked cramped with all kinds of voodoo paraphernalia, with several dried human and wolf skulls hanging from the ceiling with tiny ropes.


    It was a creepy ce and she felt ufortable being there. Now she understood why Mizzah didn''t want to follow her in.


    "I admire your courage, Edvana," he said with a smile. "Not many women would have the heart toe in here."


    "I am not just any woman, am I?"


    "No, you are not. However, are you not afraid that I could kill you in here without anyone knowing?"


    "Mizzah knows that I am here, and I am not sure your master would be happy if he found out that you''ve killed me."


    "He is not my master!"


    "Fine, your friend. What would you tell him if you kill me?"


    "Do you think he cares about you? You are just another ything to him and nothing more. Do not overestimate your importance to him."


    "I could say the same thing about you, Zokman. Nikjin and I did not just fuck each other like wild animals, we talked too."


    "About what?" he asked suspiciously. "What did he tell you?"


    Erin scoffed. "Do you actually expect me to tell you what your friend told me in confidence?"


    Zokman sat up straighter. "You are bluffing!"


    "Maybe... maybe not," she said, enjoying his distress.


    "I could turn you into one of those beasts right now," he threatened. "You will tell me what you know right now or face my wrath!"Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    Erin knew he was bluffing but she didn''t want to push him over the edge. She needed to take control of this conversation instead of letting this shrewd man box her into a corner with fear.


    "He is on to you," she said. "He knows you are nning to sabotage his ns but he does not know how or what you are up to."


    It was a lie but she knew this might be her only opportunity to find out what Zokman was nning and if he indeed was up to something that Nikjin was not aware of.


    He responded to her im with a hard stare. It was as if he was trying to determine if she was being truthful or not, and Erin stared right back at him, refusing to back down. Finally, Zokman looked away with a grunt.


    "He may have his suspicions but he can never know what I am up to," he admitted.


    Erin almost sighed out loud but she schooled her expression into a mask of indifference. "You would be a fool to double-cross Nikjin. He is far more intuitive than you think."


    Zokman snorted. "He is nothing without me!" he said angrily. "I made him who he is today and he has stolen my dreams and made them his own."


    "What do you mean?"


    "It was my idea to overthrow Vak Smallchief and be the Prime Alpha. It all began with a conversation I had with Nikjin many years ago. I told him that Vak had the power to rule over humans as well as werewolves, and instead of living in the shadows, he could take over the world with the kind of power he wielded.


    "My dear friend Nikjinughed me to scorn and told me I was insane because I was just an ordinary human who had inherited special powers from his ancestors. He said only a werewolf could be an Alpha King, and I knew that part was true."


    "So, what made you think it would ever be possible for you to be the Alpha King?"


    "I told Nikjin to bite me and make me a werewolf, but he refused. He imed that life as a werewolf was lonely and full of torment and that he would rather spare me the pain of bing one. Besides, only Vak had the power to make any human a werewolf because he was the first Alpha. Only his bite would make a difference and every seed that came from him would be born a werewolf. Ever since I learned that secret, I have been obsessed with finding a way to get to the Prime Alpha. I begged Nikjin to take me to his brother, but my so-called friend refused. He said it was in my best interest to remain a human and that I should quench any dreams I had about bing a werewolf."


    Erin was surprised that she felt sorry for this horrible man that had done many unspeakable things to innocent people. She pushed her feelings aside and continued digging for more information.


    "At what point did Nikjin hijack your ns to be the Alpha King?"


    "It was shortly after Vak''s third son came of age and was inducted into his father''s n of Alpha warriors. Nikjin had not been selected to be a part of the Alpha pack warriors and his ego was bruised.


    "He felt insulted that his brother chose his son over him even though he was older and more experienced in warfare. He refused to remain in his rank as a Beta because he thought he was too good to be rated as a second-tier werewolf." "I see... so, what happened next?"


    "He separated himself from the only family he has had since his mother died and he became a lone wolf. Every attempt by Vak to reconcile with him and take him home failed. He became hostile to Vak and his family, attacking members of the n and even killing humans.


    "That was when his brother banished him and forbade all werewolves from interacting with Nikjin. He became an outcast, bitter and fueled with rage against his brother and family."


    "And how did you enter the picture?"


    "Well, he knew he could not conquer his brother alone because he was no match for him. Besides, what could one angry Beta dopared to an army of werewolves?


    "Nikjin was well aware of his limitations, and so he came to me for help. He said he wanted to overthrow his brother and be the Alpha King of werewolves." "Why did you agree to help him?" Erin asked, soaking up every tiny detail of this intriguing story.


    "Initially, I did not want to. But then, it urred to me that this could be my opportunity to gather every useful information I needed to know about my adversary, and also use Nikjin to do the dirty work of fighting his brother and weakening his defense.


    "In my quest to be a werewolf, I carried out multiple experiments on random people that I kidnapped in the woods. I used them to test a potion that I made out of a werewolf''s blood but the results are what you have seen which are those mindless beasts that exist solely to die.


    "I knew I couldn''t make myself into such a vile creature that had no mind of its own, and so I offered them to Nikjin as his army. That was how our alliance began and he wasted no time in spreading the word that he wasing to wage war on his brother."


    The story was a lot to digest but it told Erin everything she needed to know about these odd friends that were fighting a parallel war that could end tragically for everyone involved, including her.


    Even though she now knew the gist of the matter, how Zokman was going to make himself the Alpha King if he somehow seeds in taking out Nikjin, still remained a mystery to her.


    "How do you intend to defeat the Prime Alpha then?" she asked innocently.


    "It is actually a simple thing," he said smugly.


    "When Nikjin shows up to fight with his brother, I will join in the fray too and get Vak to bite me. Once that happens, I willmand the beasts to kill Nikjin and Vak and then I will drink the Prime Alpha''s bold.


    "It has to happen when the moon is at its brightest because that is the final ingredient to seal everything. Then I shall be the new Alpha King of werewolves."


    Erin chuckled. "I am sure you are smart enough to know that everything cannot work out as easily as you have just described. There''s also the issue of Nikjin being immortal. Did you forget about that?" Zokman threw back his bald head andughed like a maniac. Heughed so hard that he held his sides as if hisughter was causing him pain too.


    "Why are youughing? Did I say something funny?"


    He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and looked at her. "Is that what he told you? That he is immortal?" "Yes. Is he not?"


    "No, my dear Luna. Nikjin is as mortal as the rest of us."


    "But - "


    "Listen, I knew he was going toe back to me eventually when his ambitious side kicked in. It took longer than I had anticipated but when he came, I had already figured out how I was going to use him.


    "I had thought ahead also and I knew that if he had children, they would haunt me down one day and try to kill him. I could not leave that chance open, could I? So, I lied to him and told him that for him to be the only werewolf king in history, he needed to be immortal and that the only way to make that happen was for him to drink the blood of his unborn seeds."


    This piece of information was just as revolting as it had been when she first heard it from the horse''s mouth. How could Zokmane up with something so cruel and utterly disgusting?


    "That was my first payback to him for trying to steal my dreams away. Since he was a very selfish creature, he bought into that lie quickly, no questions asked. His second and final payback ising in a few days when the full moones out and I strike him down like a useless tree. He will not see iting!"


    ''Oh boy,'' Erin thought. This was a tale of a toxic friendship that started on a shaky foundation and was now about to fall to pieces like a house of cards. She just needed to find a way to wiggle in and save her father-inw from the horrible fate that awaited him less than a week from now.


    "Are you not worried that I might tell Nikjin everything you have said to me here?" she asked cautiously.


    She knew there was a catch because Zokman wouldn''t spill out all these secrets to her if he didn''t hold a joker still.


    He grinned, showing stained teeth. "Oh, you would not dare, Edvana," he said confidently. "Why not?"


    "Because if you do, I will have your wounded brother-inw killed and I will give your sister-inw to Nikjin to be his next fuck mate. You know he loves exotic females, he would be thrilled to have a new one. And you will be discarded like a piece of filthy rag, then I shall take my revenge on you for ratting me out."


    Her skin crawled with dread. Zorraya was alive and this horrid man knew who she was! She couldn''t let her sister-inw be subjected to the same humiliating experience that she''d had to go through in this ce.


    Weruona was still alive and it would kill Zorraya to have to surrender her body to that evil Nikjin simply for the sake of her survival. And then there was poor Zanisck who was already badly injured, he didn''t deserve to die the way his brother did. She couldn''t let that happen.


    “Fine,” she said reluctantly. "You have my word. I will not breathe a word of this to Nikjin."


    "Good. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut and stay out of my way."


    "As you wish," she replied stonily.


    "Besides, now that you are in on the whole scheme, I might as well go all the way and make you my new ally."


    Erin raised an eyebrow. "Why?"


    "The truth is, sneaking around to keep the wheels of my ns well oiled without being discovered by Nikjin is bing increasingly challenging. I could use an assistant to help me out and that is where youe in." "But you said you wanted me out of the way," she argued. She didn''t want to be a part of anything that had Zokman''s signature on it.


    "Yes, I did, and you will not be in my way if you follow my instructions and do exactly as I tell you. Now, listen carefully to what I am about to tell you because your survival and that of your family members depend on it.