Nicholas lowered his head dejectedly. "Where are you? I am so sorry that I forgot about you. I am sorry that I left you. I am sorry... I didn't mean to do that. Please forgive me...."
More tears fell from his eyes, and he gripped his left chest tightly. Nicholas cursed himself for not remembering anything about his wife. He felt so guilty, he had hurt the woman.
Tears continued to fall down the wooden floor below as Nicholas continued to contemplate what his wife must have felt after he left her alone in this forsaken place.
"Sorry," he whispered in a trembling voice. "Sorry… I didn't mean to."
He kept apologizing in between his tears, but after a few seconds, he was stunned when he just realized that he forgot to ask the village head what his wife's name was.
He stood up and wiped the tears from his cheeks with his sleeves, and sped off at lightning speed towards the village head's house. He was impressed to know that even though he didn't shift, his speed when running was much faster than human's.
This was a pleasant surprise. It seemed that he slowly had learned to tap into his potential. After the day he found out he could transform into a lycan, Nicholas had been finding out new things about him that he thought were helpful or beneficial for him.
It almost felt like... he didn't hate his new situation.
In the past, he was so brainwashed by his father and the people around them that saw lycans as monsters that he had hated himself so much and thought he was not good enough. However, on the way to Hauntingen, his mother's words were played over and over again in his mind.
So, what? He was the king now. Who cared about what other people think?
In the past, the queen was terrified that Nicholas would be hunted and killed, because the king hated lycans.
But now... who should he fear? No one. He was the king and his words were law.
Maybe he needed to make an adjustment in relation to the Royal Lycan Hunters. They were still needed and would become the kingdom's best line of defense against lycans the enemy who were trying to topple their government. Nicholas still needed to fight them, so Riga wouldn't end up like Armeria.
Now, he actually saw him being a lycan as an advantage. It's like getting inside info about the enemy. Now he knew what they were like. He could find their weaknesses to beat them.
He was not one of them even though he could transform into a lycan. He would never become them. He would always be their enemy and he would work hard to defeat them.
'Jokes on you, Alpha,' Nicholas scoffed. 'You bit me and turned me into a lycan to embarrass my family and prompt my father to kill me. However, you have unknowingly created a monster that would bring your whole tribe down.'
'I will make you pay dearly.'
Yes. Nicholas would use his newfound power to his advantage. And now, he would go to that village head's home to see him and find out more info about the woman he married. His wife.
The village head was right. It was easy to find his house after Nicholas got into the town center. The first person he asked about the old man's residence immediately pointed him in the right direction.
Nicholas arrived only minutes after the village head reached his house and just put down his coat on the table. When the king got there, he knocked on the door impatiently.
"Wait a moment." The village head's voice came from inside while Nicholas waited anxiously.
The door opened. The village head was a little surprised when he saw Nicholas, he had just arrived at his house after escorting the young man into the forest, but now the young man was in front of him.
Did Nicholas leave the hut as soon as he left? The village head furrowed his brows in confusion. He thought Nicholas was going to stay in the hut for a while because the man wanted to find a clue about his wife.
"You? Ah, come on in."
The village head invited Nicholas to enter his house, but Nicholas refused.
"No. Thank you. I just wanted to ask, what is my wife's name? I forgot to ask you. That's why I came here," Nicholas explained.
The village head looked sad because Nicholas really didn't remember anything about his wife. The young man didn't even remember the name of the woman he married. It was really unfortunate. He could only imagine the accident that Nicholas went through.
"Sophia Hansley," the village head said after about five seconds of silence.
Ba-dump.
Nicholas held his breath when he heard the name spoken by the village head. Instantly the image of Sophia Romanov appeared in his mind then was replaced with the image of a child who had the same hair as Sophia Romanov.
Nicholas's heart beat faster, and his breathing became a bit heavy, followed by the pain that rose in his head. Sophia?
Was there such a coincidence? Were they really the same person?
"So... Sophia?" Nicholas muttered in disbelief.
"Yeah, that's her name." The village head nodded. "She is a very beautiful young woman. An orphan. I knew her parents and was very sad when they died. So, when I saw that she had found a good man to be her husband, I thought she could finally be happy."
"Ah."
Nicholas staggered backward, and it worried the village head to see him.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yes. Thank you." Nicholas forced a smile, then turned around. He walked slowly with his eyes staring blankly ahead as if his soul was somewhere else.
After walking for a while, he stopped and stood there for a while. He was in the middle of an open square, right in the middle of the town.
His once empty eyes now twinkled again. His brows knitted together as he compared Sophia Romanov's face and the face of the little girl in his memory, who was probably Sophia Hansley.
The two figures had a lot in common, and that made him suspect that they were the same person. But if so, why didn't Sophia greet him when they met at the palace party? Sophia must recognize Nicholas, right? So, why didn't she say anything?
Nicholas wondered about all these in his mind. However, the questions were immediately answered with memory when Sophia Romanov looked at him tearfully in the royal party, and then she suddenly fell unconscious.
Nicholas' heart sank at the thought of Sophia's pain that night. The woman must have been devastated to see that her husband was engaged to another woman.
The searing pain was getting worse in Nicholas' head, but he didn't want to stop thinking. He had a lot to remember right away.
Suddenly the image of the two children who had entered with Sophia that night came to him. Nicholas just realized that the two boys looked very similar to him. He wondered if the two children were his biological children?
Of course, they were!
Why had he been so blind to see it?
Nicholas's breathing became heavier. His fingertips turned pale, and his entire body trembled. He leaned against a tree trunk so he wouldn't fall because he was losing strength.
The man struggled to catch his breath and tried to control his emotions. He needed to be calm. He didn't want to turn into a lycan now, but the realization struck him hard.
"Why did I let this happen?"
.
.
__________________________
From Missrealitybites:
YES! Nicholas remembers! Now, he just needs to go and find them.
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