The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

87 The Leader Of The East

~Leo~

I wasn't ready to face Tamia yet, so when Max and Kyle accosted Sylvester and me, I used the opportunity to part ways.

I knew seeing Tamia was inevitable, and I wished it would be easy, but I knew it won't.

The last time we spoke, she was hurt.

I remembered the hurt in her eyes that day. I saw her give up completely, and it was all my fault.

I knew she was happy with Sylvester, but I still found it hard to move on.

She was mine right from when she was seventeen. Who would have thought our time together would be short-lived?

I felt ashamed of myself.

She had done what I failed to do.

When she reminded me of my promise the night she returned home naked and in pain, I sat on the couch and could not speak.

The truth was, I did not expect her to understand. I did not expect her to see things my way. I was afraid to let go of the rare gift given to me, and I expected her to accept it.

I knew that that was my inner truth.

When she complained and showed disappointment, I often told myself she would do the same thing in my shoes.

Even though I knew Tamia was very loyal and devoted, I believed she would do the same in my shoes.

I had told Devin that she would have rejected him for my sake, but I did not believe my words. I just wanted to discourage him from pursuing her and getting her in trouble with Sylvester.

After hearing that she rejected Devin, I felt ashamed of myself.

How could I face her knowing I had failed her?

Sylvester Volkov was a better man for her.

He made a promise and stuck to it.

She made a promise and kept it.

There was no way anyone or anything could come between them. There was no way.

I needed to prepare my mind for my friendship with Tamia. It will be hard. It would be difficult to see and talk to her, being in the same space with her and having limits around her.

It will be difficult because she was once mine.

I needed to prepare my mind for the torture I would experience through the friendship, but I was grateful to Sylvester for his kind gesture. This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

A challenging friendship with Tamia was better than silence. It was better than being estranged from her. At least I get my confidant back, someone I know I can trust and rely on. I was excited about it. However challenging it will be, I was excited about it.

I returned to my booth, and Ramsey was sitting next to Amanda.

I honestly hated the man. He brought about my ruin, and I was angry and enraged after what Sylvester had just told me he did.

I knew Kyle was a fool, but he did not deserve this.

I wanted to beat the crap out of Ramsey and ask him what the fuck Kyle did to him to make him set us up like that. I was angry.

The lives that were lost due to that attack still haunt me.

"Darling," Amanda said, smiling at me, and I returned the smile.

"How did your meeting go?" She asked me, and I knew I needed to watch my tongue where Ramsey was concerned. Speaking in opposites was the only way to protect myself from the prick.

"Not well," I replied, and her face dropped. She rubbed my back gently and kissed my upper arm.

"I hope he wasn't upset," She said with a tinge of fear, and I could not blame her. The Wolf Lord's anger was something to avoid.

"I hope he isn't. Max and Kyle accosted him, and I am nervous," I lied, and she hissed.

"I am sorry, but those two alphas are fools. Kyle was the one that got the east into this mess to begin with, he had better not try it again, and Max almost got us in trouble the second time," She said, grumbling, and I rubbed her back to calm her down.

I did not want her going into labour in the booth of a sports arena in the north.

I wanted to tell her. It wasn't Kyle but her treacherous father, but I refrained from it. There was no use voicing my mind.

"Father, you should go against them in the committee. The east was more peaceful when you led it. Leo is doing a good job, but those people make it very hard. I think you and Alpha Timothy should step in to support Leo," She said, and Ramsey shook his head. The prick.

Of course, he will shake his head. He had messed everything up. I was beginning to suspect that he did it out of scorn.

Tamia and I had increased the strength of the mountain pack, knocking him out of first place in the east.

I was occupying his seat. Kyle and Max knocked him down to fourth place. Could he create trouble for us because of it?

I believed it was more profound than that, and I was determined to get to the bottom of things.

"Max and Kyle have Leo's vote. I can't contest it," Ramsey said casually, and Amanda shook her head.

"I am sure Leo will side with you." She said and squeezed my hand.

"Won't you, darling?" She said, and honestly, I cringed.

I knew I said I wanted to try with Amanda, but other than the bond, there was nothing. It wasn't her fault; the issue was with me.

"No, I won't," I said bluntly, and she stopped.

"I won't, darling, because your father is in retirement. I can also put Kyle and Max in check. I won't be able to caution your father," I explained, and she shook her head.

"You aren't putting those two in check. If you were, they wouldn't have caused the war and friction between the north and east," She said, and I shook my head.

"Kyle did not attack the Western border in Gad. I believe him. I do not know who did it, and I don't care." I said quickly, so the main culprit sitting with us won't be on alert.

"How can you not care? They took Tamia away," she said with a shaky voice.

"You did not see how they bound her in chains and took her away, Leo. She could have pointed at me or let them kill you, but she gave herself to them," She said, getting all emotional.

"And she is now a lady of the north. I believe it served her well," Ramsey said with a bit of jealousy or scorn.

He used his daughter to force Tamia out of our home; now, Tamia got herself a bigger and better wolf.

"Tamia was lucky with the wolf Lord," she said, and I stopped her. It was evening time.

"We need to return to the hotel." I said, standing up, and she stood with me.

I was tired of the conversation, and I wanted to get away from Ramsey. My mind was still processing what Sylvester told me about his involvement with the attack.

"I will see you tomorrow, daddy," Amanda said and hugged her father. Ramsey kissed her cheek, and he shook my hand. Amanda and I walked away.

We returned to the hotel suite that we shared with Max and Kyle.

After I showered, I changed into something comfortable and picked up the intercom to order a meal.

"What would you like to eat?" I asked Amanda when she exited the bathroom, and she smiled at me.

"Surprise me," she said and came to bed in her night dress.

I ordered her favourite and ordered mine. She was excited and rested her head against my chest.

"Amanda," I said, and she looked at me with a smile.

"Do you tell your father everything that is going on in our home?" I asked her, and she was silent before responding. I knew the answer was yes, but I kept it to myself.

"Not that I go and tell him, he talks to me about things, and I find myself answering the questions. He is very curious, and you know I am his only child," she said, giggling, and I pretended to laugh. Realising I needed to be secretive around Amanda.

"Leo," she said, and I answered her gently.

"Now that Tamia is getting married and you know she is happy, are we going to get married too?" She asked me, and I sighed.

"We have claimed each other already. There is no need for a ceremony. Only chosen mates practise blue moon ceremonies and weddings," I said, and she was silent.

I knew it was customary to have a wedding ceremony with her, but I refused simply because I knew her father was the one pushing her to do it, and I did not want to name her Luna officially too.

I wasn't there yet.

We ate, and Amanda fell asleep thirty minutes after we finished eating. The movie we were watching was boring, so I could understand.

My eyelids became heavy too but sleep left me when I heard Max roaring in the living area.

I left the room in my pyjama pants and saw Max angry and fuming, pacing up and down the room.

"What is the meaning of this? Amanda is trying to sleep," I said, and Kyle looked at me angrily.

"What good are you?" he said, and I frowned at him,

"All you had to do was demand a swap, and you failed. How can you call yourself our leader yet have no leadership in you? You have no spine," He said, and I was slowly getting angry.

"You are a coward, Leo, a fucking coward. No wonder Tamai moved on quickly," Kyle said, and I punched him.

I heard something crack, but I didn't care. He had struck a nerve with me.

"You will respect me!" I said, getting angry. Black had had enough of their nonsense. I was a peaceful man, but I refused to be disrespected anymore.

"I accepted the invite because of you two. Came here and ridiculed myself for your sake. I begged Sylvester Volkov for your sake. I am a leader in my own right, yet I stooped low for your sake, and you call me a coward!" I said, livid.

"If you had kept your ranks in check like a proper alpha should, no one would use your men to attack the border of Gad, and Sylvester won't rain down his terror on us and take our mates from us.

I am still hurting from my loss. I can never get over it. How dare you call me a coward?

It takes a lot of strength to walk away from a fight when you are challenged. I see Tamia in Sylvester's booth at the arena, and I dare not look. I dare not let my stare linger or talk to her. Do

you think it is easy? It is your fault, Kyle! They took our mates because of you!" I said and then looked at him.

"Linda isn't an object that you can swap at will. She is a person, and she is happy now. She is expecting a baby with Theodore Orlov; move on. She would not get back to you even if you were the last man on earth. After all you did to her?" I said and laughed from frustration.

"Are you on drugs, Kyle?" I asked him.

"No woman would return to a man like you after you treated her that way. You are sick. You need help. I still can't wrap my head around you asking your soldiers to fuck your wife in front of you. I can't wrap my head around it. It is sick, and you need help. She is free of you, so let her go," I said and looked at Max.

"And you. I need to figure out where to start. I am ashamed that you two are my friends. I have done enough for you two. Let this be the last time either of you will talk to me about the mates you lost to better men. And before you think of a jab, I accept that I lost my wife to a better man. It is time you start accepting it, too," I said, and Max shook his head.

"You might be our leader, but we are alphas. Yes, I made a mistake with Avery, but I am willing to make amends. Everyone deserves a second chance. I won't be at peace if I do not try. I was blinded by lust and fooled by the bond; I had to try, Leo. I can't come this far and humiliate myself this much to not take her back with me," Max said, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I didn't mean to beat my Avery. Michelle told a lot of lies, and I believed her. Some of my men were in league with her. I believed them; I hurt Avery because I believed them. I thought Avery was malicious. I thought she deliberately hurt Michelle. I believed all the lies they told me..." Max said and sat on the couch crying.

"I swear, Leo, I didn't mean to. It is just that things got heated between us and I reacted, and then I found myself doing that all the time," he said, and I did not want to hear him or Kyle anymore.

"Then you two will have to do it on your own. I am not going to aggravate Volkov, Sidorov and Orlov over this," I said and returned to my room. Amanda was sitting up and crying in bed.

I knew she heard me, but it didn't matter.

I got into bed with her letting Black take over, and tried to console her. I was trying, but I needed to move faster.

We headed to the arena the next day, and Max and Kyle decided to seek out Linda and Avery.

They wanted to catch them when they were alone and plead their case. They were delusional, but I admired their perseverance. Too bad I did not see this going well for either of them.