The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

127 The Waiting

~Sylvester~

I waited for Tamia in the western garden. I had the staff prepare a picnic for us. I stood and paced around the garden waiting for Tamia to join me. I was told Leo had sent for her, and it had something to do with Amanda. I wasn't worried, but I did not like that she would be dragged into their mess.

They chose each other they should leave my mate out of it, but Leo was yet to learn that Tamia was permanently out of his life.

I would leave the issue for both of them to resolve. I might have approved a friendship, but it was wrong for Leo to involve Tamia in his problems with Amanda, the woman he broke her heart for.

Soon I saw Tamia approaching, and she had a broad grin. It was clear whatever Leo called her for had no adverse effect on her.

She rushed at me, and I lifted her from the ground, and we kissed passionately.

It felt so good holding her in my arms in the garden. Breaking the kiss, she looked around at what I had prepared for our time together and was beaming.

"It's lovely, Sylvester," she said, almost on the verge of tears, and I held her to my chest. That was when I caught Leo's scent.

Had he been hugging my mate? I controlled Knight and broke the hug gently.

"Jealousy does not suit you, big guy. He rejected Amanda, and she left. He needed a shoulder to cry on. You, of all people, know the emptiness that comes with rejection," She said, knowing exactly what was the matter with me, and I smiled because it was okay.

"You can't blame me for being possessive," I teased.

We sat and enjoyed the scenery.

I rested my head on her laps, and she ran her fingers through my hair. We were catching our breaths and relaxing. I noticed Tamia had been overwhelmed lately, despite not complaining about it. I knew it, and I was glad we were relaxing.

"Stephanie, Katya and Nicole are planning our big day," She said, and I already had that information. David had told me when I took Dominic to see him. He was still with Dominic, and I hoped my brother would let our half-sibling in.

"I know; David told me when I took Dominic to see him," I said, and she giggled.

"How did Dominic handle seeing him?" She asked, knowing how Dominic was.

"He was shocked to see how much David looked like our father. Dominic liked our father, so it was easy for him to look past the Alissa thing. They are together as we speak." I said, and she sighed.

"The conversation Amanda had with Annika was a bit weird. I did not want to say much, but I think we should keep an eye on her, Sylvester. I asked Wilson to put a Kappa on her just in case her name comes up somewhere in the middle of all this; we would know where to get her," She said, and I sat up.

"How weird was it?" I asked her, worried because everyone wasn't comfortable with Amanda's business, and there had to be something to it.

If only we had something we could pin on her, I would have stylishly held her, but no one had mentioned her name. The way we caught her was based on speculations.

If she had not admitted anything to Leo, she would have been an innocent party in all this. She was too clean to be clean, but there was nothing.

I was proud of my mate for taking that initiative. I wished Leo would have kept her as his luna for a little longer, but he had his reasons for letting her go, and I could not blame him.

"Did they not feel the pain?" I asked Tamia, and she shook her head. NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

"Not that I know of. It was just like Devin and me,"

She said, and I frowned.

"So why was mine with Susan different?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Maybe because Susan wasn't pregnant? That is the only common factor between Amanda and me," she said, and I did not want to stress her to think of it.

"I think it was a brilliant idea to have someone watch her. Hopefully, her name doesn't come up, and we do not have to see her again," I said, and we laughed.

She bent to kiss me, and soon I pulled her close, and we were lying on the picnic mat.

We went into the woods to allow our wolves to run wild and soon returned to where the picnic mat was. It was close to evening.

Returning to my human form, I checked my phone and saw many missed calls from Vino Lawrence. It had already begun.

My few hours with my mate were the only time I was spared.

I decided to call Vino back because he had called with his personal phone and not the official number, so I expected it to be confidential.

"What is it?" Tamia asked, wearing my t-shirt.

"Vino called me four times," I replied, and the smile in her eyes faded. I knew what she was thinking, but we had set things we needed to complete in motion.

I called, and Vino answered after two rings.

"Lord Volkov," he said calmly.

"What is it, Vino?" I asked him, sounding short, and he cleared his throat.

"I am sorry to disturb you, your eminence, and I hope this isn't a bad time," he said, and I was silent, giving him room to speak.

"We learned you made some arrests last night and have taken over the council prison. Please, your eminence, I do not want to sound disrespectful, but only the council has the right to deal with such issues. You must hand the prisoners over to the council and let them have a fair trial. The fact that some of these prisoners are council members has created an uproar. We have been trying to reach you all day to no avail," He said, and he was silent.

"So what do you want?" I asked him, sounding uninterested.

"If it won't be too much trouble, your eminence, we hope you will come and defend your actions. We also ask that you give the council control over the prison, as it should be based on our laws.

I promise you that I will see to it that your reasons are heard, and proper investigation is carried out to bring justice," he said, and I sighed.

I noticed he was watching his words trying not to offend me, but we had a plan, and however nice Vino may be, I had to follow it through.

"I do not care about the law in this regard, Vino. These people have been a problem to me, and I want peace. I do not trust the council, so I am taking the law into my hands to do as I see fit. You should tell the council that I dare them to do their worse. I will not back down this time around. Where were these laws when these people ran around me and tried to cause a war? I will deal with them as I see fit. It would be wise for you to stay out of my way, Vino. You and the council you represent," I told him, and he sighed.

"I am not your enemy, Lord Volkov. I am just speaking on behalf of the council. Please, I do not want this matter to escalate beyond the way it is. You are lord, not a king; you do not have the power to overthrow the council. They will agitate, and I do not want what happened with Alpha Christian to happen again." He said, talking about the petition they raised.

"And how well did that go?" I asked him, and he sighed.

"It didn't go well, but now you have arrested members of prestigious families and the council. They will all be against you. Please hand the prisoners over to the council so we can get to the bottom of the matter, and there won't be hatred towards you," he said, pleading with me to consider.

He wanted to prevent me from getting into trouble, but he did not know I was looking for that trouble. All the cards were in my favour already, and I did not need to do much to get what I wanted.

"Do not worry about me, Vino. I will advise the council to stay out of this. I will do as I please; end of the story," I said, and he was silent.

"I guess we are done," I said to Vino and hung up.

"What's with him?" Tamia asked, and I smiled at her.

"What we expected," I said, and she frowned.

"The council wants me to turn over the prisoners, and I said no," I said, and she smiled, knowing exactly what would ensue.

Ignoring the call, we spent time in the western gardens and made love under the stars. It took a lot not to claim her. I took comfort in knowing that the blue moon was just fourteen days away and we could complete our bond.

I did not claim Tamia because I did not want my friends to feel left out. We rarely would find our fated mates, let alone reject them and find second-chance mates. We were truly blessed; there was no need to rub it in their faces. The love bite would have to do for now.

Two days passed with no word from the council, and I began to worry because they were moving slower than I expected.

Dominic told me they had been debating in the council, and Larry and Vino had been on my side, but the rest of the members were livid.

I had decided not to get involved, but Dominic had been invited severally so they could speak to him to convince me to do as they wished.

Besides Larry and Vino, everyone called for a vote to take me out of office. However, they were not planning to remove the lordship as I had hoped; they wanted Dominic to take over. In that case, they would not need the regional leaders to vote.

It was a smart move.

They were going to call for the vote the next day. So we decided to have a meeting early in the morning and move.

I arrived at my lounge, and I could see the disappointment in all their eyes.

The council had behaved differently. We needed to counter them.

I sat down, and even though my mother wasn't there, I could pick up her scent. I looked at everyone present, wondering who was carrying her scent. Not wanting to dwell on it too much, I chose to address the matter at hand.

"So what should we do now that they have done this?" Devin asked, sounding a bit impatient. I understood his issues. We were yet to question the prisoners. We had more people to arrest, and this king guy was still at large. It was a huge setback.

"I can't believe we are worried about this. We will just push on," Leo said, and I looked at him.

"Only Leaders from three regions are present. The exact number of votes needed to push our agenda. We will write the council and demand we want a king. It would be our vote against theirs, and they will still have to call Sidorov, Orlov, Belyaev and Lawrence to vote. Thank goddess, we need three of the four. Dominic would stand in for the Balyeav, and that is it. We still get what we want." Leo said, sounding angry and impatient.

His anger wasn't directed at us, but at the situation we were facing.

"It would be more forceful and look like a plan, but at this point, I really don't care. They can call it whatever they like. We have to do this. This king man is dangerous; we have only two options. Make Sylvester king or let this man take it by force, and he would do it easily. He is smart and has his tendrils everywhere," Christain said, and it was a done deal.

That day a letter was composed and sent to the council for a vote to occur the next day.

Leo wrote the letter, and there were a lot of complaints about how the council had failed to protect the east from the terrorist group. Devin had the same complaints, and they all agreed that since the protocols were not working, they would prefer they install a King instead of the nonsense we had.

I needed only three of the four regional leaders' support, likewise the noble families; I needed three of the four, and I had the numbers on my side. It would be a quick and easy vote, and I could not wait to get it over with. Once it was done, I planned on unleashing hell on the prisoners until I found the king. I will go dark on them.