3. Viktor - 16 Years Old

When I blink again, I notice that I’m in the forest behind the Volkov mansion. In the distance I can see lit torches and chanting; someone walks past me and I see sixteen-year-old Viktor following close behind his brothers Kon and Dimitri.

We’re all dressed in black cargo shorts and no t-shirts while wearing somber expressions.

I swallow hard, knowing what’s happening tonight and the backlash it caused. Kai’s becoming Alpha and naming Kon as his Beta, Dimitri as his Gamma and me as his Delta. He mentioned naming Nikolai the Epsilon when he comes of age, too. 

This is where the rift with Dominik truly started because he expected to be named Beta, not Kon.

I follow them and lean against a tree to get a better view of everyone gathered here. My brothers, Dominik, three members of the council back home, and the newly formed BloodCrest witches.

The blind witch, Kaede, is about Kai’s age here; she left with Kai and Kon for Russia under training to take over from our deceased parents. It’s a pity they were twisted by Marle…Kaede was a good person. I suppose that’s why she was so easily manipulated.

Kaede steps forward, her milky eyes looking straight at Kai as she beckons him forward. She says her blessings and prayers in Russian while he kneels, then she touches the space below Kai’s left ear and I hear the sound of meat being seared. 

Kai received his BloodCrest Alpha mark - an intricate crescent moon with dips and swirls interwoven with the Greek symbol for Alpha. 

“On your feet, Alpha Kai,” Kaede says in her thick Russian accent. “Tonight you take on the role as our leader, but every leader needs a second-in-command, an advisor, and an enforcer. Do you have the names of those you wish to assign these roles to?”

“I do,” Kai says in a booming voice full of authority and my gaze falls on younger Viktor and how he bares his nape even without knowing it. Wow, Kai said all of two words but I see everyone present doing the exact same thing.

“Name your Beta,” Kaede says. 

“Konstantin Volkov, my brother,” Kai says and I see Dominik’s head whipping up and looking at Kai with narrowed eyes spewing venom. 

Kaede nods. “Any objections to our Alpha’s choice for his second?” she asks, looking at everyone and Dominik steps forward. 

“I object to this choice,” he states boldly with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. Kai shoots daggers at our uncle, but there’s also confusion in his eyes.

“State your reason, warrior,” Kaede says with a nod. I like how she’s not biased and gives everyone a chance to speak up.

Dominik nods. “I do not think it’s wise for Konstantin to become Beta; he’s young and does not have enough experience for the role yet. I have been tending to the pack since they left here; I do think I am the better choice for the position.”

“We fought in the Serbian Pack Wars for over four years and managed to eliminate the sect who were killing Lunas and their first borns. How is that not enough experience?” Kon speaks up with fury burning in his eyes. 

Ah, I remember this is where the rift between the two of them started. 

“Valid point, Konstantin, and acceptable. Objection wavered,” Kaede says and calls Kon forward to kneel as well. She does the same to him and gives him the BloodCrest Beta symbol.

“On your feet, Beta Konstantin,” she says, and Kon stands up with a proud look in his eyes. He steps back to stand next to Kai with his hands behind his back, then Kaede looks at Kai again.

“Name your Gamma, Alpha Kai.” 

“Dimitri Volkov, my brother,” he says and Kaede asks if there are any objections again. When there isn’t, she gives Dimitri his tattoo as well. 

“Name your Delta, Alpha Kai,” she says with a knowing smile on her face.

“Viktor Volkov, my brother-”

“Oh, for God’s sake! Are we going to hand the pack over to a bunch of children now?!” Dominik roars and Kai has him pinned to the ground with a hand gripping his neck tightly.

“You’re not even a fucking Volkov by blood and you want to have a say in who I chose to run at my flank?” he growls and I see his claws extending. His crimson eyes start to split and I get the distinct scent of rotting flesh in the night air. What the fuck, wasn’t his Lycan contained?!

“Kai…!” our uncle flails and tries to remove Kai’s grip on his neck. “Forgive me…I wasn’t thinking…!”

Kai growls and gets to his feet. “Age carries no weight when I know the capabilities of my own brothers. I trust them more than I trust anyone else and know I have chosen well. As thankful as I am for your help, this is our birthright; and you, uncle, have zero fucking say in this,” he says before turning his back on Dominik laying on the ground, sputtering.

This is when I notice the absolute hatred in Dominik’s eyes as he looks up at Kai; if only Kai spotted this back then, he wouldn’t have made Dominik his enforcer.

The ceremony continues and we’re all named as Kai’s most trusted, then we take our BloodCrest oath and vow to remain loyal to our Alpha and pack. I remember how nervous and excited I was while being named as BloodCrest Delta; that moment I knew things were changing…

I just didn’t realize how much they would change.

We walk back to the vehicles after the ceremony and my eyes fall on our old home, now completely reconstructed. Kai refused to set foot back in there after what happened; he saw it as atoning for his sins. 

I smile as I recall the future scenes where I see Kai back in here with Caterina and their children…then my heart breaks again knowing I would never get to see it in person. That little wolf healed Kai in more ways than one.

“Viktor!” 

My heart stutters in my chest when I hear the voice and watch as younger Viktor’s face lights up when he sees his best friend. Kai nods as if to give him permission to go to Ilya, then he walks towards the waiting cars.

I can’t believe I fell in love with him, but looking at the way I interacted with him back then, I suppose it was inevitable. Ilya runs towards us with a wide smile on his face, then he sees the tattoo on younger Viktor’s neck and whistles.

“You’re Delta now?!” he exclaims before wrapping his arms around me. “That’s amazing, Vik!”

I can hear how younger Viktor’s heart is beating wildly when this happens and groan at the way I remember fighting what I felt for Ilya even before the Mate Bond Sighting. It was easy to fall in love with Ilya, not only was he gorgeous with his dark hair and warm brown eyes, but he felt safe. 

I could be myself around him; he even knew about my sexuality and didn’t think it was weird to be my best friend even if he hung around the more manly warriors in the pack.

“Thanks, Ilya; I was going to tell you about it, but Kai said not to mention it to anyone yet,” I say when we pull apart. “It hasn’t sunk in yet, to be honest.”

Ilya claps my back as we walk toward where my brothers are waiting. “Well, I for one, am so proud of you. Delta at sixteen? That’s a huge achievement and well deserved,” he says with that lopsided grin that has the younger me blushing. “Hopefully I’ll be great by proxy now.”

Younger Viktor chuckles and pushes Ilya. “You’re already great, asshole, you don’t need me,” he says, and Ilya jokingly pushes him back. 

“No, I need the awesome Viktor Volkov’s greatness to rub off on me. Show me your ways!” he teases and somehow it ends in a scuffle that involves us pretending to fight and rolling around on the grass. 

We were laughing playfully and as much as it hurts to look at this and know what happens next, I can’t look away. Ilya ends up on top of the younger me, holding my hands above my head and when I open my eyes while laughing, our smiles fall away.

The Mate Bond Sighting clicks; I can literally see the link forming between the two of them from here.

Ilya crawls away from me, but we don’t break eye contact; his spicy scent I was so familiar with, now felt like an aphrodisiac luring me in. We get to our feet and try to step back from each other, but we take a step closer.

“Ilya…?” younger Viktor asks with confusion and desire in his silver eyes. “Are you feeling this?”

He nods. “What is happening? Why am…” Ilya trails off, then when we hear Kai calling for me, it seems to break whatever spell we were under and Ilya bolts away from me. 

Younger me sank to his knees and Kai was at my side with a hand on my back. “What’s wrong, little brother?” he asks in a voice full of concern.

Shaking my head, I still look at the spot where Ilya had just stood and could still smell his scent as if he never left. “I don’t know. One moment we were play-fighting and the next…it felt like Ilya’s scent overwhelmed me. Like-”

“A string pulling you towards him?” Kai asks, surprising me with that accurate description of how I felt at that moment. When I nod, he sighs and pulls me to my feet. “It’s after midnight, Viktor, you’ve just turned sixteen and that’s the age we start meeting our mates.”

Younger Viktor nearly falls down again and his eyes bulge out of his head. “Mates? Wait, are you saying-”

“The Mate Bond Sighting just occurred between you and Ilya, yes,” my brother says, clapping my back. “Let's go home; you can speak with Ilya in the morning.”

I sigh as I watch them walk away because I knew that younger me wouldn’t see Ilya again the next day because he disappeared for four years.