Chapter 17: Childhood Friends

Hollow Angel Pack

"Clara! Please be careful! Your father will kill me!" Klaus, who is standing below the tree, is scared that Clara will fall from the tree.

"Don't worry! I'll just pluck two apples for each of us!" Clara shouted from above the tree.

"Then you should have let me climb the tree!"

Clara got two apples and was about to go down when she missed a step. Seeing Clara fall made Klaus panic, but he immediately moved to catch her. After successfully catching Clara, he sighed and put her down.

"See, you should have listened," Klaus said.

Clara giggled and they walked to their favorite place to sit and observe the scenario. "You're about to turn 18," Clara said, starting the conversation.

"Yep, and I'll be traveling now."

As she heard Klaus saying that he would leave the pack to travel, it made Clara feel lonely. Seeing Clara's face full of sadness, Klaus smiled at her and said, "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it," he said, assuring Clara. "When I come back, I'll tell you about the places where I've been." He added, Clara's face lit up as he said, and she gave Klaus her sweetest smile.

When Klaus's family vanished when he was 5 years old, Clara's family took care of him, and he grew up as Clara's brother. Klaus always puts Clara first in everything except his dream of traveling. He told Clara that when he became an adult, he would travel around the country before he would look for a mate to settle down with.

The two really cared for each other. Like any other sibling would.

In a few weeks, Klaus turned eighteen and left the pack to travel. He traveled until he didn't know where he was anymore. He looked, watched, and tasted everything that was new to him. Klaus was so happy to be doing what he had been dreaming of until he met a group of rogues. He is one of the best fighters back at the Hollow Angel, but, of course, any werewolf facing a group of rogues can be killed. Klaus knows this very well, which is why he is moving with extreme caution, looking and thinking of some ways for him to survive. Thinking about the promise he made to Clara before he left, that he would be back on her eighteenth birthday, Klaus fought for his life.

Feeling dizzy, Klaus woke up in a cell. Seeing that he was not dead, he was confused as to why they left him alive and captured him instead. Questions kept on popping in his head, and all the questions were answered when someone called the Alpha of Rogues visited him in his cell.

"What's your name, boy?" The man asked, feeling like he was on top of the world. Klaus, who is hesitant to reveal his name, thought that if he could gain the favor of this so-called Alpha, he could make a chance for himself to leave alive.

"Klaus," he said, introducing himself.

"I'm" That word was the only word that he heard because everything fell silent when the man introduced him as his father. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His father was the Alpha of Rogues. He doesn't know whether to believe it or not. When the words sank in, he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Rather than believing it, he would use it to his advantage to go back to Clara. "Son? And I'm locked up here. " The man laughed in the confidence of Klaus. He called the guards and ordered them to unlock his cell.

"Follow me," the man calling himself the father of Klaus said to him. Klaus followed him quietly, glancing right and left, memorizing the way. They both entered a room with a hallway inside and a chair and throne at the end of the hallway. His father walked and headed straight to the throne. He sat down, and Klaus left in front of the throne still standing.

"I have a dream, an ambition, you see. The Queen of Werewolves was born, and I've been dreaming of its king. " The man said, sitting in his throne. Klaus almost smirked at the man but stopped himself from doing so.

"How can you be so sure that you are going to be the king? Not her mate? " Klaus asked, curious.

The man laughed so hard it was like Klaus had said some sort of joke. "Boy, I'm a Rogue!" His so-called father told him, almost shouting at him. It was obvious that the man was mocking Klaus.

"I don't play by the rules, son," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. Klaus gulped at the man's killing intent. It was his first time encountering that kind of killing intent. I should play it safe, Klaus thought.

"The Queen resides in the Hollow Angel Pack," the man said. Hearing the pack name, Klaus' hands trembled. His eyes grew big when he realized who the queen was. He remembered the memories he had with her, the suspicious training that they provided her, and the respect of the elders in the pack for her.

He thought of Clara.. He rushed outside and shifted to his wolf form, rushing through the forest on his way to his pack. He was thinking of telling the pack about this, that Clara was in danger. He was thinking of so many ways to stop his father from getting his hands on Clara.

He kept thinking about what his father told him on his way to his pack. As the time went by, questions began to pop into his mind. asking himself if the pack would believe him, if the pack would take his word seriously.

He stopped running for some time to eat and drink water. Even in his weakened state, Klaus still ran for his life just to get back to the pack, forgetting that it was Clara's birthday. Days passed when he arrived in the pack, and at that time, the whole pack was having a party for Clara's eighteenth birthday. Seeing them all happy and celebrating, Klaus stopped himself from going near them, feeling that he would only ruin the party and that he was not part of them. He watched Clara from afar, watching her laugh and enjoying her birthday.

Clara felt the intense gaze at her, so she looked in the direction where she felt the gaze. She saw Klaus standing behind a tree, looking at her from afar. She knows that it was him. His build may be bigger than before he left, but in her heart, she knows that it was Klaus. Clara ran towards where Klaus was while smiling, excited that his best friend hadn't forgotten her birthday.

Klaus's face became clearer when Clara was closer to him. Clara stopped running, catching her breath and looking at Klaus, who was smiling back at him. When their eyes locked, Klaus felt devastated at the fact that Clara and his wolf had no reaction, meaning that he was not her mate. Klaus realized that all these years of the care that he had been feeling towards Clara was not because he saw her as his sister, but because he was in love with her.

Clara was about to get closer again when she caught her breath when Klaus vanished. She glanced around, confused about what was happening. asking herself if it's only her imagination, but if it's her imagination, that would be the saddest smile she saw on Klaus.

Klaus shifted back to his wolf form, running away from the pack. He was thinking about what he would do to his feelings, the feelings of love that he knew would be useless. Klaus is nothing more than a brother to her if he is not her mate.On his way back to his father, his love for Clara became an obsession. He thought that his father would get her. He growled. "I'm the only one for him." he said to himself. He made numerous plans for how he would assume his father's position.With that, he ran through the woods, swiftly evading the trees and rocks that stood in his way.

"I knew you'd come back. Now take my hand and help me with my ambition. "You will be a prince! He said to Klaus, laughing devilishly, not knowing that Klaus had another plan in mind. Smirking at his father, he turned his back and headed outside.

Klaus found a secluded place near his father's hideout and decided to make it his place. He sat there, thinking about his memories of Clara. In the end, Klaus burned all the memories, telling himself that all of those were useless now. As the days went by, his obsession deepened and he started taking action in his plan to take down his father when, in the late afternoon, he sent someone to call him.

He is standing in front of his father, who is sitting confidently on his throne. "I want you to meet someone," his father said, and waved his hands. gesturring one of his people to open the door for that someone to enter. Klaus glanced back, but not facing that someone, and glanced back at his father. "She is a witch." The steps were getting louder and louder until Klaus smelled some alluring scent that he couldn't help himself to turn around to face that someone. Seeing the witch and looking at her straight in the eyes, "MINE!" he shouted. His father's eyes grew big for a second, surprised at what he heard, then he laughed hard at the situation.

"GOOD! This is good! Prepare for a feast! My son has come to my side and has now found his mate. " The man shouted, making sure everyone who was present heard what he said. The rogues that were there rushed outside, preparing the feast immediately. The father sat down on his throne and smiled at Klaus, who was holding his mate close to him.

The witch loved what was happening and loved the possessiveness of Klaus. "I am Merlin," she said. "Klaus," he replied. He hugged his mate. "And we are going to kill my father," he whispered close to Merlin's ears. The scene looked like Klaus couldn't help himself from touching his mate, seeing that the father smirked, loving the scene. When Merlin finally processed and understood what Klaus meant, she laughed devilishly.

Klaus took Merlin into his place, and the place was not okay for a woman to stay in. Merlin snapped her fingers and the place changed in an instant. Klaus was amazed at Merlin's powers. Observing his mate from behind, he said to himself that his feelings for Clara were indeed useless, but if someone was going to be a king, it must be him. Smiling, he walked towards his mate and hugged her from behind, smelling her scent. He turned her to face him and kissed her passionately before ripping off Merlin's clothes, causing her to gasp.She smiled, feeling happy at him being aggressive. She deepened the kiss, causing Klaus to carry her and lay her in bed. Merlin's voice was being heard throughout the place, mixed with Klaus's grunts.

After making love countless times, Klaus held Merlin close to her.

"I won't mark you just yet," Klaus said, making Merlin confused. She looked at him with a confused look, questioning what he said.

"Let's kill my father and take over this pack of rogues, then capture Clara to be the King of all werewolves," he said, trying to explain his plans.

"What's in it for me?" Merlin asked, combing her hair using her hands.

"Of course, you will be the Queen," Klaus replied, smirking at Merlin. She laughed, happily satisfied with his plan, and sat on Klaus's lap, kissing him. Klaus grabbed Merlin's waist and lifted her so that he could put it inside of her. They both touched and tasted each other hungrily, as if there was no tomorrow. Moans didn't stop and continued until someone called Klaus, one of his father's men. "What!" He shouted, feeling annoyed at the disturbance.

"The feast is ready."

He heard that the feast was ready, so he smiled and faced Merlin.

"Let's kill him. This will be our first step, and this feast is for our celebration," he said, laughing devilishly.