The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

84 Tete-A-tete

~Sylvester~

My insides were calmer after what I did with Tamia, but I could not shake off the feeling that everything was falling apart and slipping away.

I did not want to be wicked like my father, but these people made it more challenging.

I wondered why I could not have a peaceful life.

One that involves me ruling in peace and raising a family.

My mate was expecting, and our wedding was around the corner, so why couldn't I have an everyday life?

I looked at Tamia and did not know what to tell her.

She deserved better. She deserved peace, and here I was, dealing with one problem or the other. When does it stop?

The bastards had hidden so much that they were hard to find.

I just needed to know who was behind all this, and there would be peace, but the people troubling my life and my people were wise and hidden.

I looked at Tamia, and as much as her suggestion made sense, I doubted it would work. These people needed a firmer hand than the law to sit down.

As much as I was against my father, there was a reason our bloodline went from kingship to lordship and maintained it. It was because, during the brief democratic period, too many wars were fought because of greedy regions and leaders. So they had to reinstate the old order, but instead of

a king, we were given lordship, forcing us to share our power with the council. Going back to those wicked times would mean war for many of us.

"I don't think that would work, Tamia," I said, telling her the truth, and she sat next to me and touched my hand.

"Darling, I know you are a kind man," She said and sighed.

"But there are times you will need to be ruthless and wicked. This is one of those," She said, and I was confused by her words.

"If you do not do what I am about to tell you, I will carry it out on your behalf," She said, and Knight was curious because I could feel her determination through our little bond.

"Whoever is messing with you knows you are kind and patient. People may call you the dark Alpha, but you only fight when provoked. Because of this, they will avoid provoking you, but they will run circles around you," She said, and I wanted her to get to the point.

"So, what do you suggest?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Who are these people that raised this petition?" She asked me, and I sighed.

"Alpha of Keev, Grizlo, Haddad..." I said, and she interrupted me.

"May I have a list, please?" She asked, and I frowned, wondering why.

"Tell me why," I asked her, and she smiled.

"They upset my man. We had a lot of fun. I am still looking forward to that rugby match, and I want to know why Leo wanted to see you today. We made love yesterday, and you claimed me partially. Basically, things have been great, and they have been looking up, then this comes up, and you are

down. I think it is time to visit those clowns and tell them what they are messing with. I will do it in a way that does not lead to you or me. But I need loyal Kappas and enforcers to get this done," she said, and I wondered.

"Someone is motivating them to work against you. We must motivate them to work in your favour and lead us to the culprits." She spelt out, and I understood her angle. This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

"The method would yield results, but it would be brutal," she explained. After hearing Tamia say it, I realised it was essential to act quickly. Killing the movement that fast would buy us time to catch the culprits. Gezel would be caught soon, and she could lead us to the others. As slow as it may seem, we were closing in on them, and the good part is that they did not know it.

I looked at Tamia and smiled.

"I will compile that list and give you kappas and enforcers that you need, but you have to promise me you will not engage physically," I said, and she smiled.

"Bryce was motivated to work against you. I would just use the same method. Until the petition they pushed forward is reversed, their loved ones would not be returned to them." She said, and I realised that Tamia could be dangerous if she wanted. As much as I disliked the method, it was necessary, and I fully supported it.

"If I can get the list by tomorrow, this matter should die down next week, and we can move on with our investigation." She said. I knew it was best to inform Theo and Marcel about the idea so they could relax.

"Are you alright now?" She asked, and I smiled. It was uplifting. One thing I did not want to tell Tamia was that after we do this, I plan on wearing the Dark Alpha's shoes and being unapologetic about it.

I had been nice because I did not want Tamia to view me as a monster, but these people had crossed the line with me. I won't be so talkative with them again, especially the council, who are insular and have outdated opinions about how things should be run.

Tamia stood up.

"I need to clean up and replace my underwear so we can leave," She said, and I smacked her cute butt while she walked away.

I linked my friends to join me, and they responded in about ten minutes.

I did not need to wonder why it took that long. They were just as unnerved as I was. No one wanted war.

It used to be easier when we had no relationship, but we had mates now, and Theo and I would be fathers soon; we would like to be around for our mates and our children. Getting up to go to war did not sound as easy and wise as it used to.

Theo was the first to arrive at my office, followed by Marcel. They were a lot calmer, and they wondered why I was laughing.

When I told them Tamia's Idea, Marcel was the first to laugh. He loved it.

"She is right, you know; Bryce was really motivated. I am sure this move would motivate anyone. I believe it is better than the other option. I advocate for democracy, but we know what these wolves would do with it. If we do not find the people doing this and stop them, it will be worse," Theo said, and I agreed with him.

We decided we would secretly compile the list of the people we needed to deal with so we could reverse the problem.

We also decided to compile the list ourselves and use men from the estate to carry out the task. The mission would be a secret. The three of us were excited and could not wait to get it over with.

My meeting with Leonardo Albert was in two hours. We got ready and left for the Sports Arena.

There was a lot of traffic, and we got there thirty minutes before the meeting.

I went to attend to Leo in a private empty booth while the rest went to join my mother and brother in the rugby section.

Leo joined me in the booth when the meeting was set to take place, and I admired his punctuality.

"Your eminence," he said, greeting me and looking uncomfortable.

"Alpha Albert, you requested an audience with me. Is everything alright?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Everything is fine, Lord Volkov. The hospitality is great, and my people are having fun," he said. At the mention of his people, I wondered how the two sorry arses were doing.

"How are your alphas?" I asked, and he smiled.

"They are alright. They are studying the rugby game as we speak," He said, and I nodded.

"I hope your team gives more of a challenge this time," I said, and he laughed.

"I doubt they would, but we will be better next year. Once we get home, we will practice our moves," He said, and I nodded.

We were served drinks, and I gave him the floor to speak.

"I do not know how to say this." He began.

"I warned my Alphas against it, but they insisted. As the eastern leader, I am obligated to try," he said, and I composed myself.

"Max wants to swap Avery for his fated mate, Michelle," He said, and I held my tongue so he could finish.

"And Kyle wants to swap Linda for his fated Rebecca. They do not want to disrespect you but feel they made the wrong decision. Since you want something of sentimental value, they believe their fated mates would be a better choice," He said. From how he spoke, I could tell he was reciting something he had rehearsed several times. He wasn't confident, and he did not sound convincing.

"This has to be a joke, right? Or maybe you want to swap Tamia for your heavily pregnant mate, too," I said as he shook his head.

"Tamia deserves to be happy, and I see the light in her eyes. I took away her joy by not keeping my promise and rejecting my fated. You put it back there. I can't tell you I did not love her because I did, and I still do, but you are what is best for Tamia. My love is not selfish, and I want her to be happy. She looks very happy with you, and you passed the test I failed. She is with the best man. It will be silly of me to even try to ask you to give her back to me," he said, and there was a truth in his voice that made me know he was genuine.

"You know Your friends' requests won't be granted, right?" I said, and he nodded.

"Linda is pregnant by Theo, and Avery is with Marcel. They are not things. They are not objects your men can give away and swap whenever they like. They are people and should be respected and treated as such." I said, and he nodded.

"I am surprised that you would go to this length for your Alphas, Leo," I said, a tinge of anger rising inside me.

"I must say I wonder what the moral compass of the east is. I would have been more impressed if you had stepped in and rescued Avery from the abusive Max, who beat her wolf senselessly and treated her like shit," I said, and he was ashamed.

"Where was your leader spirit then, Leo? Were you too blind to see that these men were maltreating their wives? Do you know what Kyle did to Linda?" I asked him, and he looked down.

"I will tell you. He degraded her. Took her money and her lands as if that wasn't enough; he had his men use and abuse her because he had gotten himself a shiny new toy. Did you not know this? Where were your confidence and bravery then? Why didn't you make the east safe for these women? Rescue them from the monsters? Now that they're happy and safe, you want to throw them back into the hell I rescued them from?" I said to him, and he remained silent. I knew he was ashamed, but he needed to be told the truth.

"You speak of your betrayal toward Tamia as if it was something simple. You might not have beaten her and Kaira up or humiliated her, but you abused her mentally. You crushed her soul. She told me everything. How you broke your promise, how you made her share. Did you bother to ask for her opinion before you jumped into Amanda's bed? Did you bother to care about how she would feel? No, you wanted her to be okay with it whether she liked it or not, likewise, your friends, Leo, they wanted their women to just take it, and now you want them to go back," I said and smiled.

"If you had any respect or conscience, Kyle should not have a pack in the east. He should be stripped of his position and disgraced for his conduct. Linda should be given her land and money. Maxwell should be disciplined for his actions against his luna, but here they are, playing sports, asking for swaps and living their lives as if nothing happened. Linda arrived here damaged and destroyed. It took a lot for Theo to get her to where she is now. You should be ashamed of yourself.

I did not take action against you because of Tamia. Even though you hurt her, she still cares about you and is protective of you; if not, I would have taken over the east by force just to deal with those

two clowns." I said, and he looked up at me with misty eyes.

"You are right. Everything you said is right," he confessed, and tears rolled down his cheeks. Something told me he had been doing a lot of crying for a while now.

"There is no night I do not sit up in bed wishing I had done things differently, that maybe my heart wouldn't be so heavy. I loved her, and I still do, and it hurts me every day knowing that I fucked it up. It is a pain that will never go away, and I embrace it as my punishment, but as for Maxwell and Kyle, I did not know what they were doing until recently. You are right, I should have taken disciplinary measures against them, and I will move to do so when I get home, but you need to know our system is different from yours; unless you give the decree as lord, the best I can do is present the matter in our committee. Then we would vote on the punishment," he said, and I realised I might have been too hard on the man.

There was a sorrow in his eyes that might never go away. He had lost a gem he would never get back.

I decided to let the matter rest and focus on more pressing issues.

I needed answers. I had problems that required to be solved quickly, so I decided to discuss Ramsey Richford with him.

Hopefully, he would cooperate and work with me on it. I needed to start catching people.

Ramsey might be his in-law, but he might be a tool used to work against me.

After studying the events of that attack, I figured someone wanted to force my hand to attack the east so the east would rise against me feeling wronged.

I couldn't risk it anymore, and Leo seemed like someone who would willingly work with me.